A rose falls to cinders
by Rago Dragovian
Summary: A short oneshot that I couldn't get out of my mind until I wrote it down. It's part of a debunked theory. Please enjoy it for what it is and please read and review. Thank you.


A/N: RWBY belongs to RoosterTeeth.

Also, I know this theory has been debunked but this muse kept bothering me until I finished writing it. I hope you enjoy it for what it is.

* * *

 _A Rose Falls to Cinders_

Cinder smirked as she finished setting the instructions on the reactor. _Soon, it will all be complete._

"Stop right there!" said a high and squeaky voice. Cinder turned to see little red riding hood with a scythe.

Cinder smirked. "You're too late, as always. I've already set the instructions and if you don't flee then you'll be blown to pieces along with this chemical weapons factory."

"Chemical weapons? What?!" said Ruby. Her brows furrowed as she tried to understand the underlying meaning. "You're lying! This is a cosmetics factory! Weiss's father –"

"Is an arms trade dealer and the only difference between him and black market traders is the rubberstamp on a piece of paper." cut in Cinder scowling at Ruby. Ruby's eyes widened. "Why do you think we've been stealing all the dust? You people sell explosives on the streets to anybody and you don't see the stupidity?"

"Well, you're trying to blow up the academy and other evil things!" shouted Ruby.

"Yeah, your academy full of child soldiers and your self-touting military machines are a danger to the entire world." said Cinder, she scowled as she noticed Ruby stiffen. "Did you never notice or question the obvious around you?"

Ruby flushed. "I'm here to stop you! I swear on my life to protect Beacon and whoever else you're putting in jeopardy with your terrorism!"

"You mean the Principal and teachers have subtly made you feel responsible and that you must always be at your top performance," said Cinder, "for the prestige of Beacon. And, you feel as if your teammates will value you less as a leader because you're not doing your absolute best? Ah yes, I remember feeling like I had to live up to such extreme expectations imposed upon me. I'm so glad I grew a brain."

"Oh yeah?! Well . . . um . . . y-you're ugly!" said Ruby pointing a finger at Cinder.

Cinder tilted her head. "Okay, let's be serious here, we both know that's not true."

Ruby rubbed the back of her head and looked to the ground. "Yeah, I'm sorry . . . hey!"

"If I had to guess, that military moron didn't tell you that you were actually the prime suspect all along for the theft that I conducted a year ago and made you feel a false sense of security," said Cinder, Ruby flinched. "Your teammates feel like you lied to them, despite the fact the school specifically ordered you to keep a secret in the first place, and you feel that my capture will make it up to all of them. Do you realize how pitiful this is? You're being forced into legal melodrama to prove yourself and you're staking your life upon my capture out of a sense of misguided loyalty to an institution that celebrates sacrifice to keep its own money system in check."

"I don't understand what you're saying!" said Ruby, "I'm just here to stop you and –"

The entire area began blaring red sirens for the oncoming explosion. Ruby gaped and Cinder smiled.

"Too late!" said Cinder, she took out her weapon to slam the ground and propel herself into the air.

"No!" cried Ruby as the chemicals began to rise from beneath the platform. Tears streaked down her cheeks. "This was my only chance! Now I . . . I . . . it's too late. It's all too late . . . I failed."

As Cinder flew through the air while invisible, she briefly turned back to see Ruby crumple to her knees in tears and begin coughing from the gas. Cinder's eyes widened. _YOU STUPID CHILD!_

Cinder twisted her body into a missile dropkick and slammed her feet in the air. A red glyph appeared in thin air around her feet and Cinder pushed her body back to the platform. She took a capsule from her pouch an released it to unleash a gas helmet that she promptly put on. She landed gracefully in front of Ruby's crumpled form on the platform.

She grabbed the scythe and after examining it for a few seconds pushed a button to force it back into its boxed form. She carefully adjusted Ruby's body to place it back on Ruby's belt before taking hold of Ruby's body in a bridal style. Cinder scowled from within her mask. _You should know better than this, you stupid brat. You're acting so different from before . . ._

Cinder propelled herself into the air once again. She slammed her feet on the air to create the glyph and easily broke through the glass ceiling with a swift horizontal roundhouse kick and flew upside down so that Ruby wouldn't be hit by the glass shards. Cinder summoned another glyph with her feet, maximized its output to the extreme, and flew across the facilities massive structure and parking lots to land safely in a dense forest. Cinder carefully placed Ruby's upper body on her shoulder and unlocked the helmet to toss it to the ground. _The chemical's mist might reach here depending upon the wind direction._

She looked down and frowned upon observing that Ruby was crying during her sleep. Ruby's head snuggled closer with Cinder's chest. "Mommy . . ."

Cinder stilled upon hearing Ruby's subconscious whisper. She scowled and her shoulders shook as Ruby's tears kept cascading down her cheeks with no end in sight. Cinder took a deep breath and slowly moved her face closer to Ruby's and gave her a gentle kiss on her forehead. Ruby's visage slowly changed from sorrow to a sweet contented smile.

Cinder moved to Ruby's ear and prepared herself to give Ruby the ultimate cruelty. "I love you, Ruby. So please, don't sacrifice yourself like I did. You're better than me, and kinder, and gentler, and honest. Don't be petty like me and think you need to sacrifice yourself to measure up to some higher goal. You're smarter than I was at your age and prettier too. Don't waste away your happiness chasing after perfection for everybody else. You'll just become a monster like me."

Cinder dropped to one knee and gently placed Ruby onto the grass. She grabbed the helmet and carefully placed it on Ruby. Cinder stood up to gaze upon the unconscious girl for a few moments before taking another capsule from her pouch and opening it above Ruby's helpless body. Cinder smirked and nodded as an electronic bubble protected Ruby from any adverse effects of the noxious gas. The field worked as an incubator to purify contaminated air and would only allow normal and fresh air to enter for Ruby to breathe.

Cinder summoned her cosmetic magic to change back into her original form. It was a useful spell she had developed in her espionage missions to hide her clothes and real features. She was able to hide everything from the world's prying eyes so they only saw what they wanted to see. A much older woman gazed down upon Ruby.

"Take care, my precious little jewel."

* * *

"Ruby!" shouted a voice from afar. An electronic whirling sound seemed to dissipate. Ruby groggily awoke and froze upon feeling a weird object around her head. _What is this?_

Ruby sat up, only to nearly collapse as a fierce bear hug suddenly enveloped her.

"Thank goodness that you're safe!" said Yang, she unlatched the helmet and tossed it aside. "Don't ever scare me like that again!"

"I'm sorry," said Ruby, looking to the ground.

"We were all worried sick," said Weiss, folding her arms, "Honestly Ruby, you need to be more careful. That terrorist could have killed you! Thank goodness that you weren't anywhere near that horrible explosion."

"How did you manage to get out and who created that electronic incubator?" asked Blake, "There's nothing but a giant crater left and toxic fumes were all over the place last night. Do you know who rescued you?"

"I don't . . . I was fighting Cinder and then the fumes got all over the place." said Ruby, frowning. "I . . . I thought it was over . . . like I failed. I'm sorry for being so –"

"Stop it," said Yang, firmly shaking her sister by the shoulders. "we thought you needed space. At least, the teachers said that you needed time to think alone to clear your mind. What a bunch of crock."

"Wait, what?" Ruby's eyes widened as she gazed up at her close friends and sister. "But, I thought you all were mad at me?"

"Why would we be mad? We're standing by you. They informed us that you needed time to contemplate to yourself and asked not to be disturbed." said Weiss, shaking her head. "Clearly, there was some sort of mistake."

"There's something wrong with this picture," said Blake, "but I can't quite put my finger on it."

"So Ruby, do you know who saved you?" asked Yang, "Whoever it was, we should thank them."

"This might sound silly," said Ruby, she began to chuckle. "but I felt like my mom came and rescued me."


End file.
